TRENDING:

FEATURED:

A shell company linked to Fox News host Sean Hannity bought properties through a dealer who pleaded guilty to criminal charges in a scheme to fraudulently purchase foreclosed homes, The Guardian reported Tuesday.

The Hannity-linked company had bought 11 homes in Georgia in 2012 that had initially been bought by the property dealer Jeff Brock, according to The Guardian. It added that Brock purchased the foreclosed homes before passing them to another corporation, which sold the properties to the shell company at a profit.

Brock pleaded guilty in 2016 to bank fraud and conspiracy for his part in a scheme to rig auctions for foreclosed homes, the news outlet noted, adding that he was ordered to pay more than $166,000 in fines and restitution and was sentenced to six months in prison over the federal charges.

ADVERTISEMENT

There is no evidence that Hannity knew of Brock’s involvement in the fraud, according to The Guardian.

Hannity’s attorney told the news outlet that neither the Fox News host nor the shell company knew of Brock’s fraud charges before they were contacted for comment.

The attorney added that Hannity wasn’t involved in selecting the homes purchased through Brock and “has no knowledge whether these properties were involved in the fraud.”

Brock declined to comment to The Guardian through his attorney.

The Guardian reported Sunday that Hannity was tied to a group of shell companies that spent $90 million buying homes in the U.S. with the aid of foreclosures and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Hannity defended himself in a statement Tuesday, saying that he was “being attacked for investing my personal money in communities that badly need such investment and in which, I am sure, those attacking me have not invested their money.”

"The fact is, these are investments that I do not individually select, control, or know the details about; except that obviously I believe in putting my money to work in communities that otherwise struggle to receive such support," he continued.